1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to infrared and radio frequency communications systems and, more specifically, to a Method and System for Enabling Wireless Data Communications with Electronic Devices having Disparate Operating Systems.
2. Description of Related Art
As technology becomes continually more accessible to the xe2x80x9ccommon man,xe2x80x9d the ability to use, store, transfer and otherwise manipulate information has become the focus of most businesses as well as for the individual consumer. Access to the information resources is commonly by some sort of network system, including World Wide Web, xe2x80x9cIntranetsxe2x80x9d, local area networks, wide area networks, as well as corporate databases.
While the conventional method for connecting to one of these information networks has been via cable and wire, as the reliance upon connectivity to information has deepened, the desire to gain such access from mobile or portable devices has strengthened. These portable devices, such as Personal Digital Assistants, handheld computers, cellular telephones, and even digital cameras are now being connected to each other and to networks via Infrared Data Communications. In fact, it is virtually impossible to purchase a notebook computer today that does not include an Infrared or Radio Frequency (RF) Data Communications assembly resident within it.
With this proliferation of Ir and RF communications capability, a number of compatibility problems have arisen. From this point forward, we will focus upon Ir data communications systems; this is under the understanding that the identical issues and solutions pertain to RF data communications.
Ir communications equipment and software has been evolving so rapidly that it is common that two filly Ir-capable appliances cannot communicate with one another. Alternatively, many times even when two appliances having disparate Ir communications are actually able to communicate with one another, the differences between the systems are so severe as to seriously degrade the quality, analog error rate, and reliability (and therefore speed) of the data transfer. What is needed is a xe2x80x9cconfiguratorxe2x80x9d system and method for: (1) detecting and testing the configuration of a particular electronic appliance (e.g. a desktop personal computer); (2) comparing that configuration to a standard, such as the configuration of another electronic appliance (e.g. a digital camera); and (3) uploading a configuration to either the desktop personal computer or the digital camera (or both), such that the two devices are mutually Ir-compatible.
In light of the aforementioned problems associated with the prior devices and methods, it is an object of the present invention to provide a Method and System for Enabling Wireless Data Communications with Electronic Devices having Disparate Operating Systems. The preferred system should compare the Infrared or RF communications configuration of an electronic appliance to a target profile, and then upload the target configuration profile to the appliance, if necessary. It is an object that the device and system perform a functional testing on the wireless communications system of the electronic appliance, including the transceiver hardware and all device drivers and software stacks. It is a further object that the device of the present invention be able to adopt the target configuration from an electronic appliance by downloading it from one or more appliances. It is yet another object that the device of the present invention be able to communicate with two or more electronic appliances simultaneously. It is still another object that the device and system of the present invention be operable independent of the BIOS of the electronic appliance(s) to be configured. It is a further object that there be a method for comparing the wireless communications configuration of an electronic appliance to a target configuration and then uploading the target system and testing the electronic appliance for operability with the new configuration.